Cauliflower Ears in BJJ
March 19, 2008
Baret Yoshida’s cauliflower ear.
Chances are that if you practice Brazilian jiu-jitsu, you know someone whose ears look like Baret Yoshida’s. Cauliflower ear is caused when the ear receives a blow that shears away the ear’s cartilage from its overlying perichondrium. Liquid fills the new space between the two layers, and will harden into a hard fibrous lump if not drained.
I was speaking with six-time world champion Robson Moura last week, who said that his issue with cauliflower ear did not begin until 2002, years after he had received his black belt. Today both ears are severely affected. He commented that it can only take one incident for an ear to go from normal to cauliflowered.
What are the reasons to avoid cauliflower ears? Here’s a brief list.
- You may scare away a potential girlfriend, boyfriend, or employer. I think guys have a little less to worry about here as having the appearance of a “tough guy” may be attractive to some women. I don’t think any guy ever would appreciate his girlfriend having cauliflower ears though as most would agree that cauliflower ears never qualify as “pretty”. In very few cases will having cauliflower ears help you get a job, especially in a white collar setting.
- It may be harder to hear! I am no audiologist, but I think we can safely say that your ear hole’s original diameter is intentional and probably optimized for good hearing. Making it smaller or obstructed is likely to negatively impact one of your five precious senses.
- There is no way to put your ipod earphones in your ears! This is the scariest of all outcomes as it may prevent you from being able to listen to your favorite BJJ podcast. Robson told the story of when he was warming up at a tournament once he borrowed his friend’s ipod. When the earbuds immediately fell out of his ears he originally thought it was because there was something wrong with the earbuds. After they fell out the third time he realized his own banged up ears were causing him to not be able to listen to the ipod, not the earbuds.
Where does that leave us? Well the best way to prevent cauliflower ears is to wear protective headgear. Honestly these are not the most comfortable things in the world, nor are they a recipe for high fashion. However as I have a friend who trains with me who is a doctor and wears headgear I feel empowered to make the statement “prevention is the best medicine”.
If your ear just filled up with liquid after getting scrunched like origami during BJJ training, you may have some luck if you drain the liquid. Doctors can do this for you and there are plenty of postings on forums showing where people drain their ears on their own. Ouch.
If you have had cauliflower ear for a long time and it’s become marble-hard, you can get plastic surgery to repair the damage. That’s expensive. If you’re on a budget and want to negate undesirable cosmetic effects of cauliflower ear, you can grow your hair long so it hangs over your ears, or buy a funny hat that draws attention away from your ears.
Do you have cauliflower ears? Are they a source of pride for you, or do you regret that you have them? Leave a comment below!
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7 Responses to “Cauliflower Ears in BJJ”
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I had this in one ear after a few months of starting BJJ. My ear hurt because it wasn’t flexibile anymore! I started wearing headgear and saw an ear, nose, and throat specialist. Good thing for me that in NYC these doctors tend to do cosmetic surgery, so they were good at draining the ear. Because of the nature of my lump they had to make a small incision and squeeze the blood out. It hurt but was okay. They wrapped up the ear and a week later they injected a local steroid into the cut site to eliminate the still soft but not still liquid growth in there, which really helped. Months later it looks like the top fold of my ear got a little mashed (this was from it getting crushed, not the cauliflower) but it’s barely noticeable, and it doesn’t hurt at all. Definitely roll with headgear when you are sparring.
I don’t have cauliflower ear, but I make custom headphones. I made a pair for a guy that has it, and man that was probably the most difficult set we have ever made. Oh yeah, I work with Audiologists and having cauliflower ear is definitely “sound destorting.” Not bad for hearing in general, but things won’t sounds as they should, per se.
6 years of grappling and a purple belt around my waist, never once had a cauliflower ear
some people just don’t get them
I have been involved in BJJ for 10 months now, and thankfully have not had any case of cauliflower ear. There are a few guys at my gym that have it, however. I used to think it was the most repugnant looking thing in the world, but now I think it looks tough, and wouldn’t mind if it ever happened to me. That is the result of me being sucked into this subculture I guess. My wife, however, differs in opinion and thinks that I wear headgear when I train, for she said she would not make love to me anymore if I came home with cauliflower ear. Well see what happens.
I want it. Just a little. I don’t know, maybe because I’m not a physically imposing guy to look at. I just want something defining about my appearance, and why not get it from the thing I am most passionate about.
Over here in Japan, loads of people have it, and it’s well respected. Politicians have cauliflowers. Policemen have them. Old geezers, upstanding highschool kids… It’s just a positive thing.
I want it, and I’m not ashamed to say so. After almost five years training (though only the last two with any intensity), I just got my first taste last week. The smallest little pod popped up. Looking forward to more.
I just got over a minor case of puffy ear syndrome. I honestly don’t care too much about whether I get it or not, as long as it’s along the edge of the ear and not in the inner part of it. I don’t want BJ Penn style ears.
My right ear isn’t going to look exactly like my left one ever again, but it’s all good. As long as my wife doesn’t care, I’m not too worried about it.
I have a deal with my wife. I can train as much as I want, but I must wear earguards.
She is da bomb.